Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 17,200 NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:NWE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 17,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $875,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NorthWestern Energy Group by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in NorthWestern Energy Group by 1,233.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,373 shares of the company's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195 shares during the period. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $126,000. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in NorthWestern Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NorthWestern Energy Group Stock Down 0.7 %

NorthWestern Energy Group stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.55. The company had a trading volume of 437,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,622. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $49.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.50. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.97 and a 12 month high of $60.56. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 0.43.

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.30). NorthWestern Energy Group had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $475.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $471.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NorthWestern Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. This is a boost from NorthWestern Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. NorthWestern Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 80.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NWE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on NorthWestern Energy Group from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on NorthWestern Energy Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of NorthWestern Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NorthWestern Energy Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.71.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and various industrial customers. It generates, purchases, transmits, and distributes electricity; and produces, purchases, stores, transmits, and distributes natural gas, as well as owns municipal franchises to provide natural gas service in the communities.